Rubber glove



W. ROBERTSON RUBBER GLOVE Filed March 1, 1939 INVENTOR ISFLAC W- ROBERTSON ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 16, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

' 2,286,718 Milt? 31.1mm.

Application March 1, 1939, Serial No. 259,16! 2 Claims. (01. 2-168) This invention relates to rubber gloves and in particular relates to thin rubber gloves for use by surgeons or the like.

An object of this invention is to provide rubber gloves of the character described, which when worn on the hand will permit sensitive touch at the ends of the fingers without materially interfering with circulation of the blood or with free movement of the hands or fingers.

Another object of the invention is to provide rubber gloves of the character described which are easily applied to the hand.

Still another object of the invention is to provide rubber gloves of the character described in which the wrist portions may be modified to ad- :Iust the tension thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide rubber gloves of the character described having improved guards at the wrist portions thereof.

Other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following brief description and the ac companying drawing.

Of the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away and in section, of a finished glove embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a front elevation, partly broken away and in section, of the wrist portion of the glove shown in Figure 1, before application of the expanding ring.

Figure 4 is a view, partly broken away and in section, of an expanding ring for insertion at the wrist portion of the glove.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view, partly broken away and in section, showing a modified form of wrist guard for the glove shown in Figure 1.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, the numeral l0 designates a thin, seamless, rubber glove of known type, usually formed by dipping a glove form in liquid latex. The hand portion II and major portions of the fingers i2, ii of the glove preferably are formed in such proportion as to fit the hand snugly but loosely so as not to interfere with circulation of blood, and to allow freedom of movement at the Joints of the hand and fingers. The end portions of the glove fingers preferably are reduced in size, as indicated at II, I! in Figure 1, to cling to the end portions of the fingers of the hand without discomfort, but allowing for sensitive touch over ably of coiled wire ll covered with a protective an area at the ends of the fingers extending subcoating ll of rubber, the ring it being adapted to expand said enlargement thereby to form an outwardly extending double-walled guard l9.

The ring it when properly positioned, substantially as shown in Figure 1, may be manipulated to stretch the glove in a manner to ease the glove onto the hand. Guard I9 is particularly desirable as a shield when the glove is being used, for example, for a cavity examination or a surgical operation by a surgeon.

The rings I! may be supplied in different sizes to be interchangeably used with gloves of the same size, whereby the fit of the glove about the wrist may be varied, in accordance with the requirements of the individual using the glove, to properly retain the glove on the hand without interfering with the blood circulation in the region of the wrist.

Figure 5 illustrates the use of a ring 20 of fiexible material, such as a coil spring, formed integrally with the wall of the glove to stretch the same outwardly, thereby providing a flanged portion 2| at the wrist for the purposes set forth above. This construction provides a rounded top edge at 22 adapted to fit about the wrist without binding the same or stopping the blood circulation.

Thus has been provided an improved rubber glove which is easy to apply over the hand and fingers, which permits free manipulation of the hand and fingers without binding action, and which does not interfere with the blood circulation, these features being combined with the feature that the ends of the glove fingers fit relatively more snugly than the other parts of the glove to permit a sensibility of touch at the ends of the fingers closely approaching the touch of bare fingers.

Modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A glove of thin, flexible elastic material, the end portions of the glove fingers normally outwardly of the first Joints of the fingers being of reduced cross-section to conform relatively more snugly to the end portions of the fingers of the zearier than other portions of the glove to the 2. A glove of thin, flexible elastic material for fitting onto the hand loosely but snugly, the end portions of the glove fingers, substantially up to the first joint of the fingers of the wearer, being of reduced cross-section to fit relatively more snugly to the finger tips of the wearer than other portions of the glove to the hand.

ISAAC W. ROBERTSON. 

